Thursday, May 28, 2009

Frugal Decorating With Abundance

The Shabby Nest is having a frugal decorating linky party today. Frugal decorating is the only kind I do. So, I am looking forward to reading everyone's ideas today!

In the last few years I have developed a few strategies for living more frugally and these same tools work for decorating as well. Right now, living in an apartment is the most frugal thing for us. Therefore, all my decorating has to keep building regulations and *limited* storage in mind.

Calendar page from the day I got engaged.

These are my decorating mantras!

1. I have all that I need and more! So, I avoid the mall. Seriously. I used to go to the mall for entertainment. When committed to I to buckling down to save money, I avoided the mall to avoid temptation. What I discovered was that I really didn't miss it. In fact, when I finally went to the mall after more than six months of avoiding it, I could see more clearly that the whole mall is designed to make you feel lacking. My life and home are extremely abundant! I certainly do not want to be sold on any other ideas.

2. Hang your heart on your walls. We have framed all sorts of personal things around our apartment. My husband is a huge music fan. We have some of his favorite records on the wall. At Christmas we swap them out for vintage Christmas albums we got from our parents old collections. Not only do these records, dishtowels, calendar pages and post cards remind us of good times and places, they add a lot of color to the rental beige walls. When you come to my home, it won't necessarily look like a magazine, but it does reflect us.

3. Love the ones your with! I already have tons of great decor items that can be displayed in new ways. To keep things fresh, I rotate my "art" frequently. If I can avoid boredom, I can steel my resolve not to buy new! I keep all my framed pictures behind the sofa. If I should walk through the room with an itch for change, I can quickly swap out pictures on a whim.

4. Look around for new ideas. These heart shaped rocks were free! Sometimes they are in my planter, sometimes I bring them out for display.

5. Take some risks! I wasn't sure I would like my wallpapered fridge, or that it would last, but I knew I hated the ugly old look. And, I knew that each day I could hold out on buying a new one was a day of savings. The wallpaper was just rubber cemented on and now it's a bit frayed. My next plan is to paint the fridge with chalkboard paint. I have a yucky fridge but it is fun to change it up!

6. Join a swap! If you are crafty- and so many people are even if they don't practice it daily, there are wonderful swaps all over the internet. Participating in swaps has been a great way to collect wonderful handcrafted and thrifted goodies for my home. This collage and banner are just two of the many cool things I have collected through swaps!

Well, none of these ideas are totally new, but I hope that they have reminded you that you have everything you need to make your home beautiful!

Crafty Goals 2010

Jane

Look! See! Jane's Out of the Crayon Box!

About Out of the Crayon Box

Welcome! This is my very own show and tell for all the things I do out of the Crayon Box. When I am not with the Crayons or grading their papers, I am most likely making some sort of mess in the name of creativity.

Updated: My Many Colored Crayons- the blog about life in my inner city classroom is on hiatus (to use a Hollywood term) and is unavailable. Rest assured, things are grooving along in the Crayon Box and this year's Crayons are a vibrant mix of pastels, primary colors and of course, some hot colors too.